FAIR TRADE CHOCOLATE

We hope you will enjoy this book. We wrote it so that you could learn all about chocolate, the problems that face cocoa farmers, and how we can all help. Please feel free to copy this book for your friends and family! We hope that you will write to chocolate companies to tell them what you have learned from this book, and ask them to sell Fair Trade. There are materials at the back of the book to help you do this! If you want to learn more, please see the resources section at the end of the book. Your teacher and parents can help you find the other resources and look on the internet sites that are listed. The Fair Trade team at....

Week 1

DO YOU LIKE CHOCOLATE?
What’s your favorite kind? Write its name or draw it here.

Chocolate always has cocoa and cocoa butter. It usually has sugar and sometimes milk, too. This drawing shows how much of these are in a chocolate bar.

Sugar

26%
Do you know what chocolate is made of? Make your best guess!

45%

Cocoa Butter

24% 5%

Milk

LET’S FIND OUT!
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Vegtable Oil

Week 1
Cocoa and cocoa butter come from cocoa beans

Cocoa grows in rainforests that are warm and wet.

Can you name some places where cocoa might grow? Cocoa beans grow on trees, inside pods that are as big as footballs!

It is too cold to grow cocoa in the United States. Cocoa pods might want a scarf to stay warm here!

LET’S FIND OUT!
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Week 1

It grows in countries in Africa

Cocoa also grows in countries in Latin America
like Ghana like Belize

Cameroon

Ecuador

and the Icory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire)

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Week 2

Cocoa even grows in some countries in Southeast Asia
like Indonesia

Let’s find them on a map!

You could walk to Latin America but it would take a really really long time! You would probably want to take a plane or a boat or a car.

Find Nicaragua, Belize and Ecuador on the map of Latin America. (page 9)

When you find each of these places, write their names on the map or color each one a different color Do you know where these countries are? Do you think you could walk to them? so you will remember where they are.

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Week 2

Africa and Southeast Asia are all the way across the ocean. You would have to take a long ride on a plane or boat to get there.
Cocoa from Africa and Southeast Asia comes to the United States on big boats.

Every time you eat chocolate, you are sharing a yummy gift from hard working cocoa farmers that live in these faraway places. Chocolate brings the world together! Draw a picture of yourself sharing some chocolate with a cocoa farmer.

Find Ghana and Cameroon and the Ivory Coast on the map of Africa. (page 8) Find Indonesia on the map of Southeast Asia. (page 10)

When you find each of these places, write their names on the map or color each one a different color so you will remember where they are.

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Week 2

Most cocoa farmers have never even eaten chocolate! They are too poor to buy or make chocolate bars. They cannot even pay for things they need, like food and clothes and trips to the doctor.

What could you buy with 25¢? Could you buy lunch? Could you go to the doctor?

Cocoa farmers are poor because they do not get paid very much for their cocoa. Cocoa farmers get 25¢ to 50¢ for each pound of cocoa beans they sell. Circle some coins to make 25¢. Could you even buy a chocolate bar? This is not even enough to pay for the cost of growing cocoa. Farmers do not get paid much for their cocoa beans because they do not have any say in what the price should be. They just get what companies want to pay them.This is why farmers stay poor. How do you feel about that?

Do you think that is right?

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Week 3

On some farms, these workers are children, just like you. They do not get to go to school, or play. They have to work very hard on cocoa farms all day because their parents are too poor to afford to send their children to school and hire people to work on the farm.

Here is a picture of some children who were made to work as slaves on cocoa farms.

These boys were rescued but others are still working as slaves on cocoa farms.

Some farmers are so poor they do not even have the money to pay their workers. These workers are slaves. They are often children, brought from other countries to work far away from their homes and families. They do very dangerous work. They get yelled at and are treated badly. How do you think they feel? How would you feel if you were them?

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Week 3

Some farmers have also cut down the rainforest to grow more cocoa to sell. This has taken homes from birds and other animals that need the rainforest.

They are also helping farmers grow cocoa in ways that are good for the earth.These are very good things for companies to do!

Some of these farmers also use chemicals to keep away bugs and diseases. These chemicals make the water and air dirty.

But, these companies still have not agreed to pay farmers enough for their cocoa.

Many of the people and animals who breathe the dirty air and drink the dirty water get very sick. Fortunately, people are trying to fix these problems.

This means that many children will still have to work hard so their families will have enough money to buy food and clothes and go to the doctor.

Some chocolate companies in the United States are trying to end child slavery on cocoa farms.

How does this make you feel?

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Week 3

Do you think farmers should get more money for their cocoa?

The Fair Trade system also makes sure that farmers do not use slaves or mistreat their workers. This means that cocoa farmers are always safe and sound.

A lot of people think so. People like this set up something called the “Fair Trade” system. The Fair Trade system gives farmers at least 80¢ for each pound of their cocoa. This gives farmers enough to buy food and clothes, go to the doctor, and send their children to school. Hooray! Circle some coins to make 80¢.

Children do not have to work on Fair Trade farms. They can go to school and play like you.

HOORAY!

If older kids want to help out on the farm when they come home from school, that is ok. But, they cannot be made to work all day instead of going to school.

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Week 4
Fair Trade farmers work together and help each other. Trade money.

Week 4

Draw something that farmers might do with their Fair

The farmers use some of their money to go to school to learn how to grow cocoa in a way that is good for the earth and make their cocoa taste the best it can be.

Fair Trade farmers also share their money with their communities to build things like schools and doctor’s offices.

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Week 4

Week 4

Fair Trade cocoa comes from 9 countries:

Dominican Republic

Belize

Ecuador

Bolivia

Ghana

Cameroon

Nicaragua

Costa Rica

and Peru!

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Week 4
Find these places on the maps of Latin America and Africa. (page 8 and 9) Draw some farmers here.

Week 4

When you find each of these places, write their names on the map or color each one a different color so you will remember where they are.

You can read stories about some of these farmer groups on the Internet. See the back of the book for a list of good web sites.

There are a lot of farmers in the Fair Trade system -

How many did you draw?

over 50,000!

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Week 4
Fair Trade chocolate has special labels that tell you that the farmers were paid a fair price. it taste like?

Week 5

Have you ever eaten Fair Trade chocolate? What did

Fair Trade Certified

Do you think Fair Trade is a good idea? Why?

Fair Trade chocolate is sold by only a few small companies in the United States. Big companies do not

Fair Trade Federation

sell Fair Trade chocolate. Cocoa farmers do not get a fair price for most of the chocolate we eat. Cocoa farmers get only 1 penny for every chocolate bar that is not Fair Trade!

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Week 4
What do you think you can do to get big companies to sell Fair Trade chocolate?

Week 5

Tell your friends and family to write letters, too! If we all ask companies to sell Fair Trade, they will know how important it is and they will do it! Do you know where to send your letter?

YOU CAN WRITE TO YOUR FAVORITE CHOCOLATE COMPANY!
Tell them that you are sad that cocoa farmers do not get paid enough and that some even use child slaves. Tell them you are sad that many children work on cocoa farms instead of going to school. Ask them to start selling Fair Trade so that these problems will not happen anymore!

Here is how you can contact Global Exchange:
Email: fairtrade@globalexchange.org Web: www.globalexchange.org/cocoa

Dear Mr. Opler, I am sad that cocoa farmers do not get paid enough to buy food or go to the doctor. I am also sad that many children work on cocoa farms instead of going to school or being able to play like me. I am the most sad that some even use child slaves. Please sell Fair Trade chocolate so that these problems will not happen anymore! Please write back to let me know when you will start to sell Fair Trade Chocolate. Thank you!

They have a Fair Trade chocolate campaign and they can help you out! They would also love to hear about your letter to the chocolate company!

You also can find a list of other helpful groups and web sites in the back of this book.

Your friend, __________________

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Week 5

Week 5

After you write to the chocolate company, you can do more things to help cocoa farmers:
1. Share this book with friends & family. Ask them to buy Fair Trade chocolate & cocoa all the time. Ask them to write to chocolate companies, too!

3. Ask your local stores to sell Fair Trade chocolate & cocoa. You can get a list of companies from Global Exchange.

4. Learn more about Fair Trade farmers and the places they live. See our web site for farmer stories at http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/
fairtradhhcocoacooperatives.html. Also check out

the resources in the back of this book to get started. 2. If your school or club sells chocolate for a fundraiser, ask the chocolate company to sell Fair Trade. If the chocolate company won’t sell Fair Trade, get your school or club to switch to a company that does. Global Exchange has a packet to help you at www.globalexchange.
org/campaigns/ fairtrade/cocoa/FTFund raisingGuide.pdf.

5. Support other Fair Trade!

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Week 6
• Look for Fair Trade bananas and fruits! If your parents like coffee and tea, they can get Fair Trade in the store! See Global Exchange’s web site for company and store listings. • You can find fairly traded clothing, hand-crafts, musical instruments, and other cool things from Fair Trade Stores

RESOURCES FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS
History and Manufacturing of Cocoa and Chocolate
Chicago Field Museum of Natural History Chocolate Exhibit Museum online exhibit on chocolate www.fieldmuseum.org/chocolate Exploratorium Chocolate Exhibit Children’s museum online exhibit on chocolate www.exploratorium.edu/ chocolate/ International Cocoa Organization Questions and answers about all aspects of cocoa and chocolate www.icco.org Jubilee Chocolates Lots of fun facts about chocolate and a special page to post questions you have. www.jubileechocolates.com

General information on Fair Trade

for making chocolate sweeter one bite at a time!
Global Exchange Fair Trade Program Information on all aspects of Fair Trade, including links to lists of other groups and materials in the US and around the world. www.globalexchange.org, click on “Fair Trade” Fair Trade Federation List of Fair Trade groups and materials in the United States and around the world. You can find fairly traded clothing, handcrafts, musical instruments, and other cool things from stores and companies that are in the Fair Trade Federation! www.fairtradefederation.com Oxfam International Oxfam has educational materials about world trade and Fair Trade that you can download for free and order from their web sites. www.oxfam.org www.oxfam.ca

Thanks for helping spread the word about Fair Trade and getting more companies to sell Fair Trade chocolate and cocoa. You are making a real difference in the lives of more than 50,000 cocoa farmers and their families across the world. Keep up the good work!!

Global Exchange is an international human rights organization dedicated to promoting environmental, political and social justice. Since our founding in 1988, we have increased the US public’s global awareness while building partnerships among peoples around the world This book is designed for grades 3-6. A version for grades K-2 is also available.